Setting Books Aside to Save for DITHOR and Read Alouds

[Onduli]

It is my understanding that it is best that a book used for Drawn Into the Heart of Reading be a book that the child has not read before. I'm guessing the same is true for Read Aloud books for various levels. Do you all grab and stash books from your shelves so that your kids don't read them ahead of time? We own lots of books and I can't really do this for my 12 year old since he's read them all (we just started with HOD and will be doing DITHOR for the first time this coming year) - but I'm trying to decide now as my 5 year old is just learning to read and will be starting to grab from our shelves soon. It seems a bit overwhelming - and I don't want to put aside ALL the books that are mentioned at all in any program, because we'll just use one or two from each genre at each reading level (right?)- so the others would need to stay on the shelf as good books for them to read on their own.

So what do you do? Do you plan ahead and hide the read alouds and the ones you want to use for DITHOR?

[MelInKansas]

I tend to look ahead about a year and look at the book packs. For DITHR it's more flexible I think, you really can use any book(s) that fit that genre, so I would look at the book pack on this website and then if my child had read any of those substitute for something else. Either maybe look at one level higher or lower book packs and see if you can use those instead, or look at the sample book list, or find one you know and love (you can check the reading level on a website too, I don't know where it is right now, but there is a good searchable database, you can even browse it if you know what reading level your child is currently at). Look at extension books for lower guides and see if any of those fit a genre and would be interesting to your child. Beyond and Bigger have long lists of storytime titles by genre in the back and those would also make good DITHR choices.

For the storytime books I keep them with my guide, packed away in a box until we are using that guide and then the books we use with the guide are in a shelf in my bedroom. OFF LIMITS. More than once someone has given my DD a book as a gift that was on our book list for that year, they are many people's favorites, in that case I am really mean, I take it away until after we've done it with our storytime and then I give it back and she can read it when she wishes. Again, with the two guides that have many options for storytime if you've already read one, or the child has read it or heard it before, you just pick another and most of the selections are readily available at the local library. I think storytime is more specific from Preparing Hearts on up. I would think if the child has already read that, or you have read it to them, you read it again because it will fit in with your history or science or something. But those who have done those higher guides can chime in with their knowledge of those.

Hopefully this makes sense. Of course you don't make all books on the lists off limits. That would, as you said, be a major hassle and terrible anyway because most of them are wonderful books! I just have one shelf of books in my room because they can't get those out and read them whenever they want.